Team Spirit…

December 23, 2009

Finally, I feel like I’m on a team! The whole team went out to eat after practice and workout. We went out for Turkish kebaps. Before this, I didn’t know there were multiple types and forms kebap in which could come. Seda and Lola sat next to Brittany and me. Lola speaks great English and Seda probably speaks the least on the team. It was quite the contrast between the two. Although she speaks very little English, Seda speaks to Brittany and me the most out of anyone on the team. She speaks in Turkish, and doesn’t care that we don’t understand her, she just keeps repeating herself. Dinner was a different story though. Dinner turned into a Turkish lesson. We learned fork, knife, spoon, plate, and the names of all the food we ate.

The team spared no cost for dinner. They gave us the whole works. We had four or five appetizers. I don’t know all their names, but one of them was like a meatball covered in a cornbread like breading. It was by far my favorite. Followed by the many appetizers, we had a huge meal. I had meat wrapped in something like a tortilla, covered with tomato sauce, and yogurt and rice on the side. Brittany had thinly sliced meat on top of bread that was soaked/baked in butter and of course a side of yogurt and rice. They were both to die for delicious. I will definitely be eating a lot of both of them while I am here. To drink we had ayran, a Turkish yogurt drink and water, su.

After we had stuffed our faces with delicious food, they ordered us a delicious dessert. The dessert was cheese fried with some sort of coating, and topped with sprinkles of pistachio dust. It was also scrumptious and although I was beyond full, I ate it all up. If dessert wasn’t enough, we topped it all off Turkish coffee. Turkish coffee is served in tiny, tiny cups. It is comparable to as shot of espresso. You sip the coffee and at the bottom are the grinds. The bottom of your miniature cup looks like and has the texture of silt. I didn’t know the grinds were still in the cup, so I thought you drank until the cup was empty. I got a nice taste of Turkish silt, followed by my tongue snapping against the top of my mouth.

What a remarkable evening! The girls went above and beyond to welcome us to the team and Turkey. After last night, I didn’t think it was possible to have a better welcome.

Can life get any better?